Persian Perspective

This be a depiction of the Shayad Monument comissioned by Farah, the wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (Shah of Iran) about 1971, in Teheran. Renamed Azadi (freedom) Tower after the 1979 revolution which sent the Shah into exile. It is clad in white marble and inset under with tile mosaic. The arch appears to be a Lamella truss. A diamond pattern also used for the astrodome in Houston.

This fellow ruled as monarch from '41 to '79 and was in later years considered by his people to be a corrupt dictator and a tool of the US and the British. In 1953 after the duly elected Prime Minister named Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh nationalized the Iranian oil companies, which previously the British had controlled, the US and Britain engineered a coup d'etat to get rid of him and restore the Shah and his crony to power thus keeping oil out of the hands of the pesky Iranian companies.
At least his wife had good taste judging by her approval of this structure. There is a museum at the base and an elevator to the top where one can peer out over the city and the 15 hectare (about 38 acres) park with fountains surrounding.


This creation is from an art festival on the island of Hormoz in the Persian Gulf last January.


More to be seen at this link.
Iran lost 500,000 "martyrs" to the war with Iraq and Saddam Hussein's weapons of individual destruction provided mostly by US, in the 80's.

You wonder if it is more noble to kill for a country or to kill for a god. You wonder if it makes any difference to the long run.

I wondered what a 13th century prophet had to say:

The Silent Articulation of a Face

Love comes with a knife,
not some shy question,
and not with fears
for its reputation!

I say these things disinterestedly.
Accept them in kind.

Love is a madman, working his wild schemes, tearing off his clothes,
running through the mountains, drinking poison,
and now quietly choosing annihilation.

A tiny spider tries to wrap an enormous wasp.
Think of the spiderweb woven across the cave
where Muhammad slept!

There are love stories
and there is obliteration into love.

You've been walking the ocean's edge,
holding up your robes to keep them dry.
You must dive naked under and deeper under,
a thousand times deeper!

Love flows down!!
The ground submits to the sky and suffers
what comes.
Tell me, is the earth worse for giving in like that?
Don't put blankets over the drum!
Open completely.
Let your spirit-ear listen to the green dome's passionate murmur.

Let the cords of your robe be untied.
Shiver in this new love beyond all above and below.

The sun rises, but which way
does the night go?

I have no more words. Let soul speak with the silent
articulation of a face.

---Rumi

. . . oh, right



thanks naj

Sentinel

Our ducks: sprig on the right with bully boy, roxy, and spotts adjacent; we got them through the winter intact, now they can rest.
Canadian goose watching over while his mate sits on eggs nearby. The geese flew in a month or so ago seeking quiet solace and apparently finding it. Roxy is on eggs also when she feels like it . . . not much hope for a hatching there . . . domestication seems to rouen them, as it does us all.




Sprig with a particularly attractive tiara today; Spotts in back. Something got into the goose's eggs and they are gone but Roxie is being diligent with her eggs which are in the duck house inside the pen with only lake access, so we may have little Rouens soon to add to the four.

Lost and Abandoned

One of many empty old houses in the neighborhood. Not many would put up with the bugs, drafty winters or upkeep in this old structure anymore. I think that the Clarks' were the first occupants as evidenced by their graves nearby (many homesteads had family graveyards added to over the years by successive owners of the property.) The earliest stone was for William Clark put up in 1853. Then Sarah Knox, 1863; Mary Quick, daughter of Stephen and Isabel, 1878 (4 yrs Old); up to the Grahams: daughter 1876 (18 yrs old), and the father in 1892. Thats the last one. I guess the more recent belonged to churches or moved on before the question came up as to where to finally rest.
I am told that just down the road was a family who survived on 40 acres with 4 kids;
that would have been in more recent times, 30's say. Their house is also abandoned with the occupants having moved away or "passed on", as they say.





















In a back hallway leading to a pantry the walls are covered with old newspapers. Arranged to be read-- care was taken.
The right pic is dated 1904 and tells of the Japanese in some sort of to-do with the Chinese. (left-click to gain detail--- sorry about the flash-glare) Also, not pictured was a description of a new airship. This was to be the "airship of the future".
Left pic is dated 1942 and shows an interesting shot of German soldiers hiding in reeds or cornstalks or something. I wouldn't believe all I saw with this photo. Looks like a setup to me, with propaganda and all.
The house was probably built at the turn of the century. The earlier denizens of the property probably living in log-cabin type structures (some of which exist too in this area.)















The last piece of furniture left: the ubiquitous school desk. No left-handers' though I am told.

Dialog

hey a door . . . lets go through

looks scary over there

but theres flowers

just remember the last time

wasnt that bad, we only died once!

true, but I didnt like it

but here we are safe and sound once again

lets keep it that way

im goin in

bye



Wild Garden Gate
by Ginger Cook
A Houston artist who uses stucco
and other media for a nice depth-effect